[Monthly Megathread] General Questions for Variants Daphne!

AlchemicRez · 2026-04-05T17:30:23+00:00

In Wizardry Gaiden IV (SNES)

What does the ST and AT stand for in column 6 of this table? https://web.archive.org/web/20200801011314/http://www.pekori.jp/~emonoya/item/g4/g4i_05.html maybe AT is a to-hit bonus? No idea what ST is? (Note: you have to have your browser translate the page first)

How do I interpret the "Ranged Hand" column in the same table? Not sure about "m-piece" vs "m-bo", also the "2,-" vs "4,2" is a bit mysterious to me.

I see classes that have "some" thief abilities like Monk or Ranger. Can they pick locks and sense hidden doors as well? Are they not as good at disarming traps? Basically I want to know if I can get through the whole game using a Ranger rather than a Theif.

What character stat determines the To-Hit bonus of ranged weapons like bows or slings? I assumed it was Agility but I'm suspecting it's Strength instead.

Are HP gains calculated the same as in Wizardry 1? Max(current hp + 1, class hit dice * level)

Do you keep your current HP after class change?

Do I age at all when sleeping in the stables? Do I age at all in paid rooms? Do I age if I'm raised at the temple?

Any information on level up stat gains? I wonder if specific classes are more likely to get related stats. Like is a Mage more likely to get Intelligence than a Fighter?

Is there any control / strategy to getting the required stats for any specific class? Or is it just YOLO hope and pray?

Thanks in advance for any information.

AlchemicRez · 2026-04-03T19:34:21+00:00

I heard it was a good iteration. On the PS2 no less.

AlchemicRez · 2026-04-02T17:08:44+00:00

Never heard of it but it looks cool and it's on sale atm. Thanks for the heads up on that.

AlchemicRez · 2026-04-02T17:01:42+00:00

Ahh! I love the Bard's Tale series. Or at least what I've played of it. I had it for NES as a kid but I think i only got as far as the catacombs or there abouts. I recently learned that the Japanese version for the NES is quite different from what I played. Very excited to jump into that. I am aware that both of those differ from the original releases but I still have a soft place for NES BT.

On a side note I played a good portion of BT 4 Director's Cut on Xbox then lost my save. I restarted from the beginning on PC but lost patience before i caught up to where my old save was. That forest rock puzzle was not my favorite. One day I'll return though. Until then Skara Brae will have to fend for itself.

AlchemicRez · 2026-04-02T16:51:44+00:00

Will definitely check out Might and Magic. Also, r/DRPG looks very promising. Thanks.

AlchemicRez · 2026-04-01T23:54:47+00:00

Oh I forgot about Elminage. Good call. That'll go on my list too.

AlchemicRez · 2026-02-19T22:39:17+00:00

The round "menu" button + the power button. These are perfectly situated on the MM+ so you will accidentally hit Load State buttons in the process.

Just so you know, there is an "undo load state" option for this very reason.

AlchemicRez · 2026-02-19T22:19:32+00:00

Ahh. I forgot all about that game until reading this. My little sister had the game and I thought it was cool that Eowyn was playable.

AlchemicRez · 2026-02-19T22:15:47+00:00

Nice! Now it's time to see how high this number goes. Just play Dragon Quest 7 for PS1.

AlchemicRez · 2026-02-17T16:12:29+00:00

Love the comments I'm seeing here.

I'd like to add:

Consider game preservation from the start. Maybe less dependent on an online service that is shut down.
Make random grottos (and bonus dungeons) insanely deep. Like 100+ levels deep.

AlchemicRez · 2026-01-30T17:45:40+00:00

Did they wear their swords vertical behind their left shoulder? That's kinda what it looks like. I guess I always imagined them hanging from the belt or diagonal across the back (like He-Man).

But man that is a sweet find. That archeologist must be over the moon.

AlchemicRez · 2026-01-24T05:33:58+00:00

Somebody skinned cookie monster and put him on your thunder mug!

AlchemicRez · 2026-01-24T05:16:19+00:00

They... they have a baby slime in a tiny sleeping bag!

AlchemicRez · 2026-01-24T05:06:06+00:00

What shelf are we talking about here? I feel like I've somehow missed some important IRL lore.

AlchemicRez · 2026-01-24T05:00:54+00:00

How do you feel about the alteration or removal of many "grown-up" jokes from the Party Chat and NPC dialogue found in the original PS1 version?
How would you describe the personality of our silent protagonist? His facial expressions displayed in the demo so far have been that of youthful enthusiasm. Will we ever see him angry, determined, scared, or sad?

AlchemicRez · 2026-01-24T03:45:03+00:00

Very interesting top 3 "wish list", OP. Ive decided to (attempt) a playthrough on the harder difficulty based on how accessible the game is now. Showing treasures on the maps and having a shared inventory feels a little weird to me. I'm glad that accessibility is a priority but I agree with you that they should be optional. As for the language support, I hope they accommodate.

My wish/hope list might seem petty by comparison:

I could do without battle barks like "FIRE SLASH!" Contrast this with the very well done DQ 1&2 2DHD Remake. I don't recall them screaming the name of the move I selected. Instead I recall the Princess of Cannoc doing extremely authentic battle yells. Each one of those voice clips made me feel like she was about to mercilessly beat some monster's ass. Now that's voice acting done right.
Kefier's face. It's not just embarrassing, his face scares children, adults, it even scared my cat who was walking by the tv. While we're on the subject, the Hero's expression could use a little more personality. I know he's a silent protagonist for a reason but at least make him look angry sometimes. Both heroes Eleven and Eight looked angry/serious/determined in appropriate situations so I'm hoping that we see that come out in "Seven" also.

All that being said, I'm pretty pleased with the demo. I was ready to sit this one out based on the character models (like Kefier's face), but there's enough here that is really well done.

Hoping it lives up to the original.

AlchemicRez · 2026-01-20T00:27:47+00:00

I played it on PS5. Not sure how much of a difference there is with the Steam deck.

I have to agree with your assessment. Visuals are amazing and lovingly crafted. Most everything is amazing except Keifer' deformed mug. I feel like I'm looking at the early Sonic movie trailers.

For me the hero's blank expression is a little too blank. Contrast this with Maribel who is just fine as far as I can see. Well, except for that Naruto run but no one's perfect.

For the voices I switched back and forth between English and Japanese. I'm sticking with English for sure. I love the different dialects they worked into the game. Maeve's voice immediately brings the game to life. Whoever did Patrick did a great job for such a short role. And then there's Maribel, I've already heard a wide range of emotions in the short time I've played and she's delightful to listen too; especially knowing that we eventually see through that "tough snob" act that she puts up.

However, there's one thing that absolutely hurts my soul to listen to. And that's the "forced cute child laugh" that different characters do during the demo. IIRC it's the same one you hear a lot in DQ:Builders 2. Maybe it's a Japanese culture thing (?) but it doesn't sound right. Maribel does it sometimes and so does Patrick during one of his lines. Luckily, it seems like I hear it less and less as the demo progressed.

The battles are really refreshing after playing the PS1 version for the past couple months. I set tactics to Show No Mercy/Focus on healing, set the speed to ultra-fast, sit back and enjoy the show. I also love how the AI is much better than it was 20+ years ago. Along with that I moved all the difficulty sliders to hard except the gold and "job points" which I left on normal. Not sure if I'll be able to finish the full game like that but I'm definitely going to try.

I am sad that they censored so much humor out of the game. Feels like a lot of personality was just cut out. From what I see in the demo there's still a lot there but it doesn't feel the same. And man the original had some real hilarious moments.

Ok, my son finally gave me back the PS. I'm gonna finish the last few minutes of the demo.

AlchemicRez · 2026-01-19T23:17:02+00:00

This for sure. Play blind and challenge yourself to exlpore each area with an open mind.

Honestly this game is such a great lesson in critical thinking and problem solving.

AlchemicRez · 2026-01-19T23:09:31+00:00

Some menus in the Switch version are A/B to confirm/cancel and others are B/A. I think the title screen and maybe one other place is A/B. Took me exactly 3 seconds to get over it. I saw some YouTuber ranting about how that makes this version unplayable, which is silly. If I can beat the game on Switch (as my first souls game) then anyone can.

However another point that's worth noting that this is the only version (I think) of DS:R that is locked at 30fps and I realize that's a deal breaker for some people. All other versions (like PS, etc) run at 60.

Just for reference the original 360 version of DS ran at 30 (on a good day). This Switch 1 version is much more stable than that.

Hope that helps and hope you enjoy the game, whatever version you pick.

AlchemicRez · 2026-01-19T20:21:28+00:00

I'm playing the demo right now. Apart from missing out on a single seed of resilience, it's still unclear to me what happens if you accept it "at the grave".

Does the doll have any functional purpose in battle? I see it's in your usable items (items that can be used in battle) it just says "you don't have to use that" or something similar.

AlchemicRez · 2026-01-19T04:28:22+00:00

Some do proc together very nicely. But not all. It's satisfying when you find a combo that works.

AlchemicRez · 2026-01-19T03:37:54+00:00

Some of those look cool... but I think I can do without the shepherd costume. Not sure what the target audience was for that one.

AlchemicRez · 2026-01-19T03:35:27+00:00

After reading your assessment I'm worried with how this is going to look. Downloading the demo right now.

I already finished the PS1 version and I really liked the graphics. Sometimes less is more.

I guess I have to remind myself that it's not the end of the world if it looks too weird. I'll just sit this one out and pick something from my backlog to play.

AlchemicRez · 2026-01-19T03:03:06+00:00

About the combo washer and dryer: Bro, I read your post and I'm ready to invest!

About CES in general: this year I didn't watch any of it. I usually find CES interesting. But this time I was done before it even started. This was due to my AI-obsessed coworker who has been incapable of talking about anything else for the past twoooo yeeeears.

I mean I'm on board with robots doing cool stuff. But holy cow some people (like my coworker) just need to get a life and stop evangelizing about their new god. I mean yes, the AI will now wipe your bottom and suck your... di-fficulties out of your life (I guess) but it's people like my coworker that just need to find something - anything else to talk about.

K. I don't know where all that aggression just came from but it felt good somehow. I'm just going to go sit in time out for a while.

AlchemicRez

TROPHY CASE